cadet blogs

During the Spring Semester, the women’s sailing team has been diligently working toward qualifying and competing in Women’s Nationals. In late April, the Academy held the qualifiers. Teams from all over the Northeast, including Dartmouth, Boston College, Harvard, and Yale, just to name a few, came to compete for one of the nine spots the Northeast region could send to Nationals. Over the course of the weekend, we competed and our team in particular sailed really well – ending up 5th place and earned our spot to compete in this incredible competition.

Upon qualifying, we had a lot of work to do. We practiced everyday and trained to get ready for Nationals, which were held at the Naval Academy in Annapolis during the last week of May. Our training time was very limited though due to the training schedule and demands that the Academy tasks us with. So while some teams could be practicing all day, we were completing 100th week and learning Rules of the Road. And after spending long, tiring days doing this, we walked down to Jacob’s Rock and spend the rest of our energy training.

We arrived in Annapolis ready to sail and earn a podium finish. Sailing at Nationals is a really unique experience. We got to sail with all of the top teams around the entire country. You learn better techniques by watching other people, which you can then use in your own sailing. It is only at Nationals that you can truly match yourself up with the best college sailors around. The Lady Bears ended up 6th place in the country – the best-known finish for the CGA women’s team. We were all very pleased with this finish but look to improve next year! We are already looking forward to starting next fall’s season! Go Bears!